Q&A with ABC’s ‘set-up’ panel

Jordan Peterson said he’d been “set-up” for Q&A, but viewers were shocked when another controversial personality appeared.

Controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson said he’d been “set-up” for Monday night’s Q&A and then the ABC threw him another doozy.

The second question from the audience went to a pre-prepared video of far-right activist Milo Yiannopoulos and left Australia wondering if the ABC had lost its mind.

For a moment viewers thought the public broadcaster had slipped into prime-time drama with the kind of trainwreck chaos reserved for Married At First Sight.

Man what a world we live in where Jordan Peterson and Milo Yiannopoulos get national platforms on Television #QandA.

— Jacob (@LafielAbriel) February 25, 2019

ABC's #qanda program should be about seriously discussing ideas. This mission statement is completely at odds with speaking to charlatans like Jordan Peterson and Milo Yiannopolis, whose job is to confuse and mislead the public as much as possible in order to sell fake solutions.

— Final Cipher (@FinalCipher) February 25, 2019

Oh no, Milo Y & J.Peterson together.
Like a Right Wing UFC Nightmare Match.
Though nice to see them eating their own. #qanda

— Cheap Stat (@CheapStat) February 25, 2019

Q&A feature Dr Peterson and now Milo Yiannopolous. I thought drama and ratings were reserved for Married at First Sight #QandA

— Hanan Dover (@HananDover1) February 25, 2019

Yiannopoulos, who has made a business model out of saying deliberately provocative things, of course only had a personal question to share for Dr Peterson.

“You talk a good game about standing up for men and for boys and you’ve certainly amassed a big army of them, but a few of us have been wondering with your silence on (Brett) Kavanaugh and the innocent Covington boys,” he asked.

“When you’ve told the New York Times that you thought I might be racist when you

know I’m not, that perhaps your actions aren’t matching your words. Can you explain why, although you talk a good game about standing up against social justice warriors and the chaotic feminine, when it comes down to it you always seem to either fold, stay silent or betray your allies?”

Dr Peterson apologised to Yiannopoulos for the New York Times piece after first remarking he had not seen the provocateur in a while.

“I don’t think the rest of your accusations are warranted,” he said, asking if the question was live and if Yiannopoulos would appear again.

Dr Peterson was then asked if the pair were in competition for the hearts and minds of young men, who make up the most of his audience.

“There’s been this idea generated in the news by news people who keep reading the news that other news people create that somehow I have a coterie of angry young white men surrounding me because they’re angry about feminism and all these otherisms. I don’t see it like that at all,” he replied.

Seriously, #QandA? “Q&A is our national conversation. We want questions from every corner of Australia.” Then what place has Milo Yiannopoulos’ interrogation of Jordan Peterson?

— Rizwald (@zaploi) February 25, 2019

This woman is all of us right now. The real MVP #qanda pic.twitter.com/lo468Fvreg

— Trish Marinozzi (@Tr1shM) February 25, 2019

ABC's Q&A on Monday night. Picture: ABC

Milo Yiannopoulos shocked viewers when he appeared with a question. Picture: ABC

ABC’S ‘SET-UP’ WITH Q&A PANEL

Earlier Dr Peterson said the ABC intentionally putting transgender woman Cate McGregor on the panel was a “set-up”.

Dr Peterson caused controversy in recent years by declaring he would not use pronouns, such as “they” to recognise non-binary genders.

He shot to fame in 2016 when he described the Canadian law that started it all, Bill C-16 — which made it illegal to refuse to refer to a transgender person by their preferred “gender pronoun” — as worse than a mere curtailment of free speech.

The professor, who is in Australia on his packed-out speaking tour, said the ABC was “predictable” for putting Ms McGregor on the panel with him.

“It was a set-up, an attempted set-up,” he told The Australian.

“It’s another reason why mainstream media is failing, and why people are turning to YouTube and other channels.”

Jordan Peterson before his show in Sydney earlier this month. Picture: Damian Shaw

Both he and Cate McGregor say the ABC has intentionally put them on the panel.

Related story: Why Jordan Peterson is preaching to a generation desperate to grow up

His YouTube channel has nearly 1.9 million subscribers and his clips have amassed more than 45 million views.

But Dr Peterson said he was still looking forward to the show, despite the “tricky” move by the ABC.

Ms McGregor is one of Australia’s most prominent transgender campaigners, a former military officer and writer who’s been outspoken on the rights of the LGBTI community.

She too is a supporter of free speech, and told the newspaper she was not unsympathetic to Dr Peterson’s line on it.

“In all, I’m looking forward to it, and I don’t come to it with any baggage about his writing at all,” she said.

“Much of it replicates my own attempts to find meaning especially in suffering.”

Ms McGregor said people used inappropriate pronouns speaking to her every day and it hurt.

Dr Peterson said he would happily address Ms McGregor “however she would like to be addressed” tonight.

“If the dialogue is reasonable, I’ll do whatever seems to be socially appropriate because I can’t see any harm in it,” he told the newspaper.

Also on the panel is Special Minister of State Alex Hawke, Shadow Minister for Employment Services Terri Butler and writer and commentator Van Badham, with social media already commenting on how the show might go.

The Campaign Against Racism and Fascism group has called on “anti-fascist” voices to point out the “disgusting” things Dr Peterson says on the panel on Twitter tonight.

Really torn, tonight, I'd like to tweet about #QandA and how much of a pseudo intellectual charlatan Jordan Peterson is, but I value my mental health...

— Bridget Clinch (@CaptainBridget) February 25, 2019

A #qanda set-up? Tonight's episode should be interesting, IMO Jordan Peterson and Cate McGregor are both taciturn and engaging @overingtonc @australian @jordanbpeterson https://t.co/9J07pSdqeR

— Nicholas Adams-Dzierzba (@NicholasAddams) February 25, 2019

Prediction about tonight's #QandA The questions put to @jordanbpeterson are bound to enrage me more than anything he actually says.

— Kookas (@ghostcrab6) February 25, 2019

I was hoping Professor @jordanbpeterson would get a fair run on @QandA tonight but I see the "c" word is already being used in his title on the qanda website. "Controversial". No other panellist has it in their title. #QandA

— Kurt Stevens (@WharfyKurt) February 25, 2019

For the first time in a while, I'm kind of looking forward to watching #qanda tonight.

— Robbie Haddad (@mcrobbee) February 25, 2019

Dr Peterson’s book 12 Rules for Life has sold more than three million copies.

His recent show at the Sydney Opera House had extraordinary security in place, attended by young and old.

At its core, Dr Peterson’s message — informed by 20 years’ of clinical practice — is simply that people must grow up, accept the burden of suffering, and take responsibility for their lives.

He has been attacked relentlessly by the political left with Canadian magazine Maclean’s panning him as the “stupid man’s smart person”, accusing him of peddling something similar to a “literal Nazi conspiracy theory” where Marxist academics are “out to destroy Western civilisation”.

The 56-year-old has been highly critical of Western universities and in particular the humanities departments, which he blames for much of anti-free speech culture seeping into the private sector.

This girl is everyone who decided to punish themself by watching this television program #QandA pic.twitter.com/E6eQRLqkQT

— Rose Callaghan (@operation_rosie) February 25, 2019

Q&A screens on the ABC, Mondays at 9.35pm AEDT

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